Machine for seaming can-tops.



P. KRUSE. MACHINE FOB. SEAMING CAN TOPS.

. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1,063,700.

24,1911. RENEWED SEPT. 24, 1912.

Patented June 3, 191.3

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

iWFNTOR- 2 WITNESSES: 7?? Q P. KRUSE.

Patented June 3, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

W. ..A L

v r. I w A? K INVENTOR fl k 15 By HUM 1163 5, ark bu @Aml MACHINE FORSEAMING DAN IOPS. APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 24, 1911. RENEWED SEPT.1,63%00.

WITNESSES:

71 KRUSE. MACHINE FOR SBAMING CAN TOPS. APPLIOATION FILED MAILZA, 1911.RENEWED SEPT. 24, 1912. 1,0 3,700..

m In R Qwm m S m ,N w, UT E 6 Ju Y m dH \N 0.6 O .fl. U m g m %T@ mm mP. KRUSE, MACHINE FOR SEAMING CAN TOPS. APPLIOATION'FILED MAR, 24, 1911.RENEWED SEPT. F 41' 1,063,

24, 1912. Pate nte d June 3, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

lNVENTOR By A tzomeys,

WITNESSES:

train at PATENT union.

IPETER KRUSE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T E. .W. BLISSCQIVJIP-ANY, OF

BROOKLYN; NEW YGEt K,

A CORPORATION OF VIEST VIRGINIA.

MACHINE FOB SEAMING CAN-TQIS.

roesnoo.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 3, 19 13..

Application filed March 24,1911, Serial No. 616,717. Renewed September24, 1912. Serial No. 722,123.

To all whom it may concern:

* Be it'known that I, P TER Knusn, a citizen. of the United States,residing in the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines'tor beaming Can-Tops, of which the following is a specification;

The machine provided by this invention is designed for cans, and isparticularly adapted for seaming the tops or covers on cans alreadyfilled.

lhe can is held stationary, and is seamed by.

seamers or seaming rolls which revolve around it and which while sorevolving gradually close 1n upon it. The cans to be seamed are in thepreferred construction fed onto conveyor which carries them to a feeddisk, whereby the cans are brought successively into position beneaththe seamers; the can thus placed is then lifted bya plunger to bring itstop into the plane of the seaming rolls and is held there during theseaming operation, after which it is lowered,

and by the next movement oi? the feed disk the finished can is carriedout of the machine.- The machine while preferably de signed and adaptedfor the performance of these functions, is nevertheless adaptable toother uses as will be made apparent.

The complete machine in its preferred 'form is shown in front elevationin Figure 1 and in side elevation in Fig. 2, the latter viewbeing partlya vertical section. Fig.

3 is a plan of the feeding means, the view being partly a horizontalsection; F ig. at is a horizontal section showing the means for turningthe can feed disk; Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the seaming rolls andtheir planes of the lines Fig. 6 is a plan of the scainiu rolls Fi 1.0is a olan of the b a m l cover-feed all lower parts not pertainingthereto being omitted to avoid obscurity; Figs. 11, 12 and 13 areinternal sections of the cover-feed in successive positions.

Referring to the drawings, A designates seaming the heads of round guidepulleys (Z d to a pulley any suitable frame or standard for supportingthe operative parts, being shownas an upright frame providing bearingsfor the rotati'vc shafts and slideways for the sliding parts, as willappear. In the preferred construction shown, power is applied to ahorizontal shaft B through tast and loose pulleys a a or otherwise, andfrom a pulley b on this .shaft a belt D is carried over shaft G, wherebythe latter shaft is driven either at the same speed as the driving shaftor at a different speed as desired. The shaft C is hollow, and throughit passes a stationary rod E fixedly clamped in a bracket 6 on the frameA at its upper end, while the lower end of the rod carries a pad or diskF against which the top of the can is to be pressed and held during theseaming The lower end of the tubular shaft C carries a head or disk Grwhich forms a bearing for the spindles of the seamer rolls.

0 on a vertical The construction of the seamers is best shown in Figs.5', 6, 7 and 8. The scanner rolls H are carried each on a stud h in anarm f which is mounted on the lower end of a spindle q, the upper end ofwhich carries a control ing arm i acted on by a scameractuating shell J.The arm c1 carries a stud a" on which is hung a shoe or runner I, all asclearly shown in the perspective View Fig. 8. The shoes I I are receivedwithin the'internally-coned shell J. Preferably the stud g is squared atits lower end and between this squared end and the arm f is a bushing efitted on this squared end and fastened by a pin 0 or otherwise; thebushing has :1 lug a received between two set-screwsg" g on the arm f,so that by adjusting these screws the arm 1 may be swung; around theaxis of the spindle g to carry the roll H toward or from the center ofthe can, and thereby to regulate the thickness of the seam, or adjustthe seaming-roll to the exact diameter of the can. For double seaming itis preferable to use two pairs of seaming rolls H H, one pair beingarranged diametrically oppositeto control these rolls are mounted lileethd shoes l I, except that they are set somewhat lower. The seamingrollsla-re caused to approach the can (g hig. 7) while revolving aroundit, by means-pf a downwardmovement of the "shell ,J', so that its conedinner surface 9' forgs the shoes I I inward. The shoes I I ltyfbeingset'higher than the shoes I I are first acted upon and forced inward" asthe shellmoves downwarthso that the primary r seaming rolls HII moveinward first to perform the first part of the seaming operation;

then as the shell J moves farther down the secondary or finishing rollsH H come into action; at the instant when the primary rolls H completetheir work their shoes I I pass beyond the cone surface j and begin (seeI, -1'5 Fig. to ascend a parallel or cylindrical surfacejj (or thismight be anexpanding surface if itis desired to permit the primary rollsto move outward and disengage the seam); the shoes I may engage only theconed surface y', or may in turn run against the surface j; when theseaming operations have been. completed the shell J moves upward,thereby permitting the shoes I I and rolls H H to move outwardly by thecentrifcan. Thus the shell J whichby its vertical u gal tendency,thereby freeing the finished 'movement controls the inward and outwardmovements of the seamers, necessarily executes one downward and thenoneupward cam-groove of which engages a roller 1 (Fig. I on a verticallymoving slide L movable 6 movement to each; can that is seamed, followedb adwellof sufiicient duration to permit t e seamed can to be removedand a new can to be brought into place. For-imparting this relativelyslow movement the driv ng shaft B drives through reducing gearing (forexample a worm is and worm- 'wheel k) a shaft K carrying a cam K the inways in the main frame A, which slide at its upper part is formed with abracket L to whlch the coned shell J is connected. The

shaft K .turns once to each seaming operat1on.. The shell J mi h-tbehon-rotative,

and the shoes I'I slide around within it; or

to diminish'friction the shoes mi ht bereplaced by rollers; butpreferably te shell J 1's 'made to rotate with the shoes, being carriedwith them frictionally, and to diminish friction between the shell andthe bracket L ballbearings are interposed. A suitable construction isthat shown, where the shell is '60 shaft is fixed the crank disk P of atGeneva "s'top n ovement, its crank p driving a star fastened to a cap J"having a hub turning freely in the bracket L, and with two interposedseries of balls 1: and c ali'oveand below the 'bracket to transmit thevertical thrusts.

The shaft K drives'through miter gears m m a vertical shaft M whichdrives the feed mechanism. On the upper end of this .wheel Q onv a shaftQ, which carries .a

7 notched feeding disk It, all as best shown in Figs. 2and4. Beneath thedisk R isa .ver-

' to the ca tically'movable plunger S in line with the shaft 0. The canis pushedover the'top of a table T onto 'the plunger S, which is thenraisedto bringthecan into the seaming position. This movement is derivedfrom the shaft M which carries a cam S (conven: iently formed in onepart with the crank disk P), the, cam surface of which acts on a rollert on a lever t the long arm of which engages an upright-spindle s (orother sliding frame) carrying the plunger St The 'plunger is thus heldelevated during the entire seaming operation, at the end of-which itsroller it runs off the cam incline s and lowers the plunger, whichremains down while the crank p is turning the star wheel to carry offthe seamed can and feed into place a new can, whereupon the incline slifts the roller t and again elevates the plunger for a new seamingoperation.

The cans'to be seamed are'fed by the operator onto a feeding rack orchute U, along which they are caused to travel by an endless chain Vturning on sprocket wheels 1) 'v. This chain may -b'e'suitably driven,preferably from the shaft K, through chains 11; w carried over suitablesprockets. The chain Vcarries the cans (q 9, Fig. 3) onto the table Tand into the successive notches in the feed disk R. This disk turns.intermittently and carries the successive cans onto the plunger Forfeeding the cans out of the machine, an inclined chute Wis provided, solocated that the feed disk R pushes the cans off the table T and intothis chute, down which they may slide by gravity. One side of this chuteis extende as a rim around the table T, as shown'in Fig. 3, to preventthe accidental escape of the cans while being fed by by the plunger S,i-t finds its cover in concentric position above it and enters the coverand lifts it against the disk F into position for tshe seaming-rolls tounite the cover ported stationary upright tube or skeleton frame inwhich the covers are-placed and loosely held. The disk X has a series ofholes fitted with bushing rings 3/ y Which stop successively beneath thestack, each ring The stack Y is a suitably-sup having a recess intowhich the lowermost I cover 9 may partly enter (see Fig. 11) so that atthe next movement of the disk this to enter the next turning the disk Rto varying positions the seaming rolls H H; The opening through pressedpush-out pad F fastened h'gher or lower on the frame-A;

ries an auxiliary disk R fastened to it by .i teed disk X to feed coversof different diaway by the ring so that next cover may descend onto thedisk,

ring in its turn. The underside of each ring 3/ is coned aty so thatwhen the movement of the disk has brought the cover directly over thecan '(see Fig. 12), this coned surface will serve as a guide for therising. can, to cause the can to enter the ring, and receive and liftthe cover (see l i'g: 13), so that the cover and can will be broughtincorrect, concentric positioh up againstthe disk F and within therevolving cover is carried the the ring 1 is too small to admit thecover, but is large enough to admit the flanged can body, and to permitthe seamed can to pass down through it. To assist in freeing the seamedcan from the disk F a spring is provided, the stem of which seatsagainst a spring housed in the stationary shaft E, (see Fig. 5.

The machine is designed to be readily adapted to varying sizes of' cans,whether the variations be in height or diameter. For adjusting themachine for dittercnt heights of cans. the feed mechanism is carried bya special trains or bracket A, which may be and the shaft M is made inwe parts. the one sliding within the other and'splincd togetlmr. Thecoverdeed disk X. may beset higher or lower relatively tothe shaft {,2}to restore it to the proper level after any adjustn'ient ot' the heightofxthebracket A. The feed chute U has side" guide bars u u fastenedadjustably at u, so thatjthey may be moved toward or from the center toaccon'imodate cansott' varying diameters. For adjusting it to cans ofvarying heights,the' chute U may be raised or lowered together with thetable T and other parts of the feed mechanism described, the chains towl adapting themselves to this movement since the axes of theirsprockets are connected through links as w. The outer end of the feedchute U may be supported by a telesropirally-adjustable support U. Thecan t'eed disk R is made adaptable to cans of. varying diameters bymaking its notches adjustable; and for this purposethe disk caraset-screw r and having projections r entering the notches 1n the disk B,so that by e'iliective width of the can-receivii1g notches may be variedas desired. The sehscrew r may engage an arc-shaped slot in one of thedisks, or preferably holes 1' registering'in varying sizes of cans to behandled. To prevent the operators clothing being caught by the disk R Rit is desirable to extend a guard rail or curved bar 7" around it, as

shown in Fig. 3. F or adapting the cover replaced by in size tolhecovers to be used. For adjusting the seamers t0 cans fof varyingdiameters (Where the adjustment exceeds the way.

ameters its bushing rings y y are made detachable so that they may beremoved and rings having openings adapted capacity afforded by thescrews g), it is only necessary'to provide a series of bushings e,having their lugs e projecting at different angles relatively to thesquared end of the spindle g, so that by substituting a dilferentbushing the arm f is projected to a different angle, or H is brought toa different distance from the axis of rotation. For an extremeadjustment the shell J may b'removed and replaced by a larger or smallershell; and if necessary a larger or smaller head G may be provided.

The machine described is very simple in construction, has few Workingparts. operates automatically and with great rapidity in the seaming offilled cans, which are held stationary during the seaming operation; andis easily adjusted to receive cans of varying sizes.

The machine may be used for seaming the bottoms of empty can bodies bypresenting" them to'it in inverted position.

The primary and secondary seamin-g rolls are best arranged in pairs anddiametrically opposite, in order to equalize the pressure during theseaming operation but this is -not essent al since except tor thedisadvantage of an unbalanced or one-sided pressure3oi1e roll of eachpair could be omitted.v

To guard against-the possibility that any of the covers 9 might. dropthrough the openings inthe bushings 3/, due to the clearance beingnecessarily very small, and be.-

cause of some irregularity in the punching of the covers, any suitablestop may be provided to constitute a temporary false 'bottom in thebushing. A convenient'construction is that shown in Figs. 10 and 11,where a leaf spring Z (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 10) is fastened toa bracket Z, and is arranged to press upwardly against. the under sideof the disk X, so that in each stopping position thereof it will enterpartly within the opening in the bushing directly beneath the reservoirY. as shown in Fig. 11.

As the disk X turns, it first starts the lower- 'most cover out fromunder the reservoir,

after which the edge of the bushing strikes the spring,Z and presses itdown out of the If any cover should be small enough and its seaming rollH to fall through the opening, it will strike,

the spring Z and be upheld.

T he ran-feeding means, cover-supplying and feeding means andcover-applying means herein-shown and described are not claimed in thisapplication, butare claimed in my application SerialNo. 722,252, filedSeptember 25. 1912.

, I claim as my invention 1. A can seaming machine comprising arevolving seamer head, upright oscillatory seamer spindles carriedtherebyhaving lowerarms carrying-seamers and upper controlling arms, anoperating shell engaging said upper arms, said shell free to rotate withsaid arms, andmeans for advancing said shell during the seamingoperatioirto force the seamers in against the can while they revolvearound it, and for subsequently retracting said shell to permit-theseamersto move outward and-free the seamed can.

'2. A can seaming machine comprisinga revolving seamer head, uprightoscillatory seamer spindles carried thereby. having lower arms carryingseamers-and upper-controlling-arms, a shell internally engaging said;upper arms, free to rotate with said arms, and having a cam portionadapted to displace said arms lnward to force the seamers in against thecan while revolving around it, anda portion beyond said active portionadapted to permit the seamers to move. idly, and means for advancing andretracting said shell.

3. A can seaming machine comprising a revolving seamer head, uprightoscillatory seamer spindles carried thereby having lower arms carryingrespectively primary and secondary seamers, and. upper controlling arms,an operating shell engag ng said upper arms, andmeans for advancing andretracting said shell, said controlling. arms engaging the shell atdifferent levels, and the shell and arms-relatively arranged and.

adapted whereby during the advance of said shell it forces first theprimary seamers and afterward the secondary seamers'in against the can,and during the retraction of said slrell the seamers are released inreverse rder to free the seamed can.

4.'A can seaming machine comprising a revolving seamer head, uprightoscillatory seamer. spindles carried thereby having lower arms carryingseamers and upper controlling arms carrying shoes, anfloperatingshclLengaging said upper armsrotatablymounted so that it, may turn withsaid-head, andmeanstoradvancing said shell during the seaming operationto force'the seamers in against the can ivhile they revolve around it,and for subsequently retracting said shell ,to permit the seamers tomove outward and free the seamed can.

5. A. can seaming machine comprising a revolving seamer head, seamerspindles carried thereby having lower arms carrying seamers anduppercontrolling. arms carrying shoes, a rotatably-mounted shell engagingsa'id npp er arms having an internal cam surface in '00I1t8.(3t -,Wltllsaid shoes, and

means for'advancingsaid shell during the seaming operation to force theseamers in against the can while they revolve around it, and forsubsequently retracting said shell to permit the seamers to move outwardand.

free the seamed can; i

6. Acan seaming machlne compris ng a 'revolving seamer head, seamerspindles carried thereby having lower arms carrying'respectively primaryand secondary seamers and upper controlling arms carrying shoes,

those of the primary seamers .being set higher than those of thesecondary seamers,

an operating shell having internal cam surfaces engaging said shoes, andmeans for advancing said shell during the seaming operation toforcefirst the primary seamers and afterward the secondary seamers inagainst the-can while revolving around it.

.and for subsequently retractingisaid shell that as the shellis advancedit displaces said shoes inward, to force the successive seamers inagainst the can while revolving v around it, and a portion adapted topermit the shoes of the primary seamers to move idly while the secondaryseamers are in operation, and means for advancing andretractingsaidshell. a

8. A can seaming machine comprising a revolving seamer heath-spindlescarried thereby having lower arms carrying seamers, and

upper controlling arms, an operating shell having internal cam facesengaging said upper arms. means for advancing and retracting said shell,and adjusting means whereby the seamers may be set-outwardly or inwardlyrelatively to said upper arms.

9. A can seaming machine comprising a revolving seamer head, seamerspindles carried thereby having lowerarms carrying seamers and upper"arms carrying shoes, an internally-coned shell engaging said shoes,

means for advancing and retracting said shell, and adjusting meanswhereby the *seame rs may. be set outward-1y or inwardlyrelatively'tosaid shoes. 7

'10. A can seaming machine comprising a revolving seamer head,seamer'spindles car- 'ried thereby having lower,- arms. carrymg seamersand uppercontrolling arms, an in ternally-coned shell-:enga'ging saidupper arms, means for advancing'and retracting said shell, and adjustingmeans for said seamers comprising aprojection'and an adjusting screwwhereby the lowerarms may be displaced relatively to the upper arms.

11. A can seaming machine comprising a revolving seamer head, seame'rspindles carried thereby havingdower arms carrying seamers and uppercontrolling arms, an operating shell engaging said upper arms, and

means for advancing and retracting said shell; one of said arms beingadjustable rel I ati'vely upon the seamer spindle to vary the justingmeans fora positlons of the seamer and adapt it'to cans ofdiiferentdiameter. n i 12. A can seaming machinecomprlsmg a reyolvi'ng seamerhead for controlling said'n'pper" arms, andadjust ing means for aseamer'comprising' a detachable bushing between the spindle and one ofsaid arms, ing it to the spindle andlne'ans for ahgu larly adjusting thearm' relatively to said ushing. g

13. A can'seaming machine comprising a revolving seamer head,seamerspindles carried thereby having lower arms carrying seamers andupper for controlling said .upper arms, and. }ud- I seamer spindlesear-v med-thereby having lower-arms .c'ar rymg" seamers and uppercontrolling arms meaiis with means for fiXedly'unitcontrolling arm's,means 'it'to "the; spindle, said bushing having a' projection entering arecess-in the arm, and the arm having adjusting screws engaging saidprojection between them.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

seamer comprising'a-d'er j lrnrnn KRUSE; Witnesse's: F. -L.v Conwnu Jr.,

lower arm, with means for:fixedly uniting 4o

